Nissan Skyline GTR: Overhyped?

With its iconic RB26 twin turbo 6 cylinder engine, the R32 GTR is a car with an unmistakable sound and an unmistakable looks. The car is now legal to import to the USA so, I decided to join the Skyline hype. Is it overhyped?

Is it Overhyped?

The R32 was originally made for touring car racing. In a Japanese touring car championship, the Skyline was so successful in the late 1980s the series was disbanded. Nobody could get close to the Nissans or stop them from winning every one of the last season’s 29 races.

A similar thing happened in Australian Group A racing when Skyline GT-Rs started winning races and in 1992 won the Bathurst classic. That the GT-R was available as a road car at all is due to touring car racing’s insistence that a certain number of road-registered cars be built to classify the racer as a production model. At the beginning, I talked about the RB26 being an iconic engine. Well, how? Simple. It’s such an advanced engine at its time. Not by much but, pretty damn advanced. It’s hardly an enormous powerplant. But add double-overhead camshafts, variable valve timing and a pair of turbochargers and the result is stunning. As well as punchy, the engine is silky smooth and likes to rev hard, making it perfect for the driver likely to be enticed by such a car.

And then there’s the gearbox and the drivetrain. The gearbox is a good old 5 speed manual. The all-wheel-drive layout with its clever centre differential that allows the onboard computer to juggle torque to either front or rear axle to maximise grip and cornering. The onboard computer differential thing isn’t a rare sight these days but for the 80’s? We barely even had a cellphone back then.

So, it’s a damn good car on the technology side, but how about its looks? The GTR has different bodykits to distinguish it from the rest of the R32 lineup. Kind of like how BMW distinguish its M cars to the regular series, with different bumpers, usually a spoiler or a wing, different exhaust, things like that.

The exterior is damn beautiful but the interior, uh…, well…, it’s plastics everywhere, the seats are crap too, if I’m honest (when I’m typing at this point, I’m afraid to continue because well, GTR is basically the God of CT but because it’s a review and it’s all my opinions and feelings, I had to write it). I’m a type of guy who likes comfort and if you’re like me, this car isn’t for you.

About maintenance and repairs, I don’t really know about that yet but the USA have a good amount of Skyline community so, I’ll probably dig some information on that.

Driving this thing isn’t really that good mainly because it’s RHD. But the overall driving, the ride, the steering, it’s okay. The steering feels precise and feels direct, you feel connected to the front axle and I love it, it’s light enough for you to not use so much energy to turn it but it’s also heavy enough to really “feel” it. The ride is pretty crap, to be honest. The car that I have is all stock except for the air intake and the HICAS. On a twisty road, it’s lovely, the brakes are really good for a 25 year old car. I took my new girlfriend for a ride and she loved it, it’s a girl magnet ;). It’s just the stiffness that I don’t like, it feels too stiff for me. It won’t get tail happy like my M3 or my friend’s Z/28 but bumps feels like you’re going Dakar rallying with a stanced car (this car’s not even stanced, it’s just the stiffness). Practicality wise, as long as you don’t carry more than 1 passenger, it’s pretty good. The rear seats are crap but the trunk is really huge. Enough to get groceries.

Conclusion

Is it overhyped? I think I’ll go with no. I think the hype is right. The car is very good overall. I can’t wait to take it to Laguna Seca someday. I might keep this car for a bit actually. As long as you’re okay with stiff cars, RHD cars, it’s a brilliant car. One of the best I’ve driven? Just maybe…

-CSL